Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's address at the inauguration of municipal solid waste based Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore
Namaskar!
Madhya Pradesh Governor Shri Mangubhai Patel ji, Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, my colleagues in the Union Cabinet, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri ji, Dr. Virendra Kumar ji and Kaushal Kishore ji, ministers of the Madhya Pradesh government, MPs, MLAs, dear brothers and sisters from Indore and many cities of Madhya Pradesh and other dignitaries present here.
When we were young and studying, the first thing that used to come to mind at the mention of Indore was Devi Ahilyabai Holkar of Maheshwar and her spirit of service. With time, Indore changed and changed for the better, but Indore never let go of the inspiration of Devi Ahilya ji. The name of Indore along with Devi Ahilya ji evokes cleanliness. Indore brings to mind civic duty. The people of Indore are so nice and they have modeled their city accordingly. The people of Indore are not only fond of ‘sev’ , but also know how to serve their city.
Today is going to provide new strength to Indore's campaign for cleanliness. Many congratulations to all of you for the Gobar-Dhan plant that Indore has got today to make Bio-CNG from wet waste. I would like to appreciate Shivraj ji and his team, in particular, for making it possible in such a short span of time. Today I will also express my gratitude to Sumitra Tai, who took Indore's identity to new heights as an MP. My colleague and the current MP of Indore Shankar Lalwani ji is also following in her footsteps and working continuously to make Indore better.
And friends,
Today, when I am praising Indore so much, I will also mention my parliamentary constituency Varanasi. I am happy that a very beautiful statue of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar ji has been installed in Kashi Vishwanath Dham. When the people of Indore would go to visit Baba Vishwanath, they would also get a glimpse of the statue of Devi Ahilyabai ji. You will feel more proud of your city.
Friends,
Today's effort is very important to keep our cities pollution-free and to dispose of wet waste. Whether it is the wet waste from households in the cities or the waste from cattle and farms in the villages, it is Gobar-Dhan in a way. Gobar-Dhan from city waste and livestock, clean fuel from Gobar-Dhan and energy from clean fuel is a life-affirming chain. As direct proof of how each link in this chain is connected to each other, this Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore will now inspire other cities as well.
I am happy that such Gobar-Dhan Bio CNG plants will be set up in 75 major municipalities of the country in the next two years. This campaign will go a long way in making Indian cities clean, pollution-free and in the direction of clean energy. And now thousands of Gobar-Dhan Biogas Plants are being set up not only in the cities but also in the villages of the country. As a result, our cattle farmers have started getting additional income from cow dung. These Gobar-Dhan plants will also alleviate the problems of the farmers in our villages and countryside regarding the helpless animals. All these efforts will also help in meeting India's climate commitments.
Friends,
It would be better if more people got to know about the impact of the Gobar-Dhan Yojana, that is, our campaign to make wealth from waste. Indore will not only get 17,000-18,000 kg of bio-CNG per day from the Gobar-Dhan Bio-CNG Plant, but 100 tonnes of organic manure will also be generated daily. There will be less pollution due to the use of CNG and the ease of living for people will also improve. Simultaneously, organic manure will lead to a new life for our mother earth and our earth will also be rejuvenated.
It is estimated that the CNG produced in this plant will be able to run about 400 buses every day in Indore city. Hundreds of youth are also going to get employment in some form from this plant which will also be helpful in increasing green jobs.
Brothers and sisters,
There are two ways to tackle any challenge. One way is to find an immediate solution to that challenge. The second is to deal with that challenge in such a way that everyone gets a permanent solution. The schemes that our government has formulated in the last seven years are going to give permanent solutions and achieve many goals simultaneously.
Take for example the Swachh Bharat campaign. Along with cleanliness, it has led to the dignity of sisters, prevention of diseases, beautification of villages and cities and creation of employment opportunities. Now our focus is to dispose of the garbage from households and streets and to make the cities free from the mountains of garbage. And in it also, Indore has emerged as a great model. As you are aware this new plant has been set up near Devguradia where there used to be a mountain of garbage. Every Indore resident had a problem with this. But now the Indore Municipal Corporation has converted this 100-acre dumpsite into a green zone.
Friends,
Today, millions of tons of garbage in cities across the country have occupied thousands of acres of land for decades. It is also a major cause for the diseases caused by air and water pollution in the cities. Therefore, the emphasis in the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission is on dealing with this problem. The goal is to free our cities from these mountains of garbage and convert them into green zones in the next two-three years.
For this, all possible help is being given to the state governments. It is also a matter of satisfaction that the capacity of urban waste disposal in the country has increased by four times in comparison to 2014. Material Recovery Facility is also being prepared in more than 1600 local bodies to rid the country of single-use plastic. We are endeavoring to set up such a system in every city of the country in the next few years. Such modern systems are also giving new strength to the circular economy in the cities of India.
Friends,
A clean city leads to another new possibility and that is tourism. There is no city in our country that does not have historical places or holy places. What has been lacking is cleanliness. When the cities are clean, people from other places also feel like visiting there and more people will come. There are so many people who come to Indore just only to see the cleanliness works. Where there is cleanliness, there is tourism and a whole new economy starts there.
Friends,
Recently, Indore has also made the achievement of being a water-plus city. This can also show direction to other cities. When the water sources of a city are clean and the dirty water of the drains does not seep into them, new energy emanates in that city. It is the effort of the government that more and more cities of India become water-plus. In this regard, emphasis is being laid on the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The treatment facilities of wastewater are being increased in the municipal bodies having a population of less than one lakh.
Brothers and sisters,
Change is possible if a sincere effort is made by recognizing problems. We don't have oil wells, we have to depend on others for petroleum imports, but we have had the resources to make ethanol and biofuel for years. This technology also came a long time ago. It is our government that put a lot of emphasis on the use of this technology. Until 7-8 years ago, ethanol blending in India was barely growing at 1%, 1.5%, 2%, not growing beyond that. Today, the percentage of ethanol blending in petrol is reaching around 8%. The supply of ethanol for blending has also been greatly increased in the last seven years.
Before 2014, about 40 crore liters of ethanol were supplied for blending in the country. Today, more than 300 crore liters of ethanol are being supplied for blending. See the difference between 40 crore liters and 300 crore liters! This has improved the health of our sugar mills and has helped the sugarcane farmers a lot.
Friends,
Stubble is another issue. Our farmers and people living in cities too have suffered from stubble . We have made an important decision related to stubble in this year’s budget. It has been decided to use stubble in coal-fired power plants. Farmers will not only be rid of this problem, they will also get additional income from the waste of agriculture.
Similarly, we have also seen there was a lot of indifference about solar energy and solar power earlier. Since 2014, our government has launched a campaign to increase the production of solar power across the country. As a result, India has made its place in the top-5 countries of the world today in terms of generating electricity from solar power. With this solar power, our government is making farmers food donors as well as energy donors. Lakhs of solar pumps are also being given to farmers across the country.
Brothers and sisters,
Along with technology and innovation, the hard work of Indians is also behind India’s achievements. Therefore, India is today able to set bigger goals for a green and clean future. We are moving ahead with unwavering trust in our youths, sisters and lakhs of our ‘safai karamcharis’ . The youth of India are playing a very important role in new technology and innovation as well as creating public awareness.
I am told that the responsible sisters of Indore have taken the management of garbage to a different level. The people of Indore separate the garbage into six parts, so that the processing and recycling of the waste can be done properly. This effort and spirit of the people of any city prove helpful in making the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a success. Along with cleanliness, empowering the values of recycling is a great service to the country in itself. This is the philosophy of LIFE i.e. lifestyle for the environment, a way of life.
Friends,
Through this program, I would like to express my gratitude to the lakhs of sanitation workers across the country along with Indore. Be it winter or summer, you set out early in the morning to make your city clean. Your service even in this difficult time of Corona has helped in saving the lives of so many people. This country is deeply indebted to every sanitation worker. We can help them by keeping our cities clean, by not scattering litter and by following the rules.
I remember India's Kumbh Mela got a new identity for the first time in the world during the Kumbh in Prayagraj. Earlier, the identity of India's Kumbh Mela revolved around our sages. But the Kumbh held in Prayagraj was identified as Swachh  Kumbh for the first time in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Yogi ji. It was discussed all over the world. The newspapers of the world wrote something or the other about it. It had a huge positive effect on my mind. I had so much gratitude for these sanitation workers that when I went to take a holy bath in the Kumbh Mela, I washed their feet after taking a bath and honored them. I also took their blessings.
Today, I pay my respectful salutations to each of my sanitation brothers and sisters of Indore from Delhi. I bow to them. Had you not continued this cleanliness campaign during the Corona period, we would have faced so many troubles. I salute you for saving the common man of this country and for his concern so that he did not have to visit the doctor.
Brothers and sisters,
With this, I end my speech. Once again all the people of Indore, especially my mothers and sisters of Indore, deserve appreciation because of their initiative not to throw garbage outside and segregate it and also my ‘Bal Sena’  who do not allow anybody to throw garbage in homes and helped me a lot in making the cleanliness campaign success across the country. The children of three to four years old tell their grandfather not to scatter garbage. ‘If you have eaten chocolate, don't throw the wrapper anywhere.’ The efforts of the Bal Sena will strengthen the foundation of our future India. While commending all of them from my heart today, I also congratulate all of you on the Bio-CNG plant!
Many thanks! Namaskar!
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.